PBSO: Lock your vehicles to avoid becoming a victim

January 30, 2013|Nadia Sorocka nsorocka@tribune.com

While crime in Wellington has been down for the past three years, auto burglaries are slightly on the rise, which is why Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office District 8 Office and the village are educating residents through public works signs.

"This type of crime can happen anywhere," Deputy Village Manager John Bonde said. "Often it takes the thief as little as 20 seconds to get in and out of an open car with your valuables."

The signs are to the point: Keep Wellington Safe, Please Lock Your Vehicles. The signs can be seen along Forest Hill Boulevard and will remain there for a couple of weeks.

Lt. Eli Shaivitz with District 8 said that the department was dealing with a slight increase in the number of vehicle burglaries. In many cases the officers were dealing with cases in which the vehicle had been left open.

"This is a crime of opportunity," he said. "It is an invitation to criminals."

On two separate nights the department sent officers into neighborhoods to investigate.

"What we found in neighborhoods was a high number of vehicles unlocked, windows in cars left down and valuables left in plain sight," he said. "They even found one car running in the driveway."

According to Bonde, the simple act of locking vehicles would eliminate a high percentage of crime in Wellington.

He said since the village has low crime rates residents are lulled into a sense of false security and that because they live in a gated community with guards they are protected.

"Wellington is a safe community," Shaivitz said. "Sometimes when people live in safe communities they become complacent."

This is not the first time Wellington has taken steps to educate residents about the need to lock their vehicles. The issue has been addressed in the village's newsletters, on the website and on local information channel 18.

"You wouldn't leave your wallet or purse on a counter in a public place while you went to the bathroom," he said. "Why would you keep valuables in the car or keep your car open? It is so much easier to prevent this crime than to have to deal with the process of replacing items, which in some cases can't be replaced."

The village has also worked with community organizations like Crimestoppers, neighborhood watch groups and homeowners associations.

"We want people to lock their cars, turn on their alarms and keep their garages shut," Shaivitz said.